It is well known to mount a ladder to one or more guide track systems to thereby allow for the movement of the ladder in one or more directions. Common examples of where such track-mounted ladders may find application include libraries, stock rooms, warehouses, and the like where there are one or more relatively long and high storage racks or shelving units. Often times these types of ladder systems require relatively long runs of guide track upon which the ladder is mounted and along which it is configured to travel, to allow for access to different areas of the storage racks or shelving units.
The guide track system, or in an example wherein the are two guide tracks (i.e., dual-track system), the guide track systems, may comprise, for example, a guide track formed of a plurality of guide track pieces such as, for example, electric resistance weld (ERW) tubing, or open seam tubing. The guide track, and the constituent pieces thereof, in particular, are typically mounted or affixed to the storage racks or shelving units. This can be accomplished in a number of ways. For example, one common mounting technique is to provide a mounting bracket configured to mount a piece of the guide track to a support structure, such as, for example, a vertical member or upright of the storage rack or shelving unit, and to also provide a plurality of dowels separate and distinct from the mounting bracket, to join adjacent guide track pieces together.
Conventional techniques, such as that described above, are not without their drawbacks, however. For example, because the dowels and the mounting brackets are separate and distinct from each other, every piece of track must be supported by an individual mounting bracket, which results in the increase in both the number of components, the installation time, and the cost of the installation and the ladder system itself. Similarly, for purposes of robustness and safety, the dowels cannot be placed within a given distance (e.g., six inches) from the mounting brackets, which results in the layout and installation being more expensive, time consuming, and complex due to, for example, required in-field cutting of the track pieces. Further, in dual-track systems, the dowel placements along the respective guide tracks have to be staggered in order to sufficiently meet the load capacity of the ladder system, which also results in the layout and installation being more expensive, time consuming, and complex due to, for example, required in-field cutting of the track pieces.
Therefore, there is a need for a bracket assembly for supporting guide tracks that will minimize and/or eliminate one or more of the above-identified deficiencies.